Suction apparatus for medical and other uses



9 MASAYUKI 'KUWAHARA 3,304,888

SUCTION APPARATUS FOR MEDICAL AND OTHER USES Filed Aug. 21, 1964 Fig.1

INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,304,888 SUCTION APPARATUS FOR MEDICAL AND OTHER USES Masayuki Kuwahara, 1074 Takahata-bodai-cho, Nara, Japan Filed Aug. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 391,269

Claims priority, application Japan, Aug. 28, 1963,

38/ 64,564 2 Claims. (Cl. 103-271) The present invention relates to a structure apparatus for medical and other uses, characterized by comprising a funnel-shaped body having an upper plate above it and a discharge pipe facing downward at its lower end, a jet pipe for pressure water which is arranged to face downward from the center of the said upper plate so as to bring the jet orifice at the lower end of the jet pipe over the upper end of the said discharge pipe, and inside which discharge pipe is inserted a cylindrical body made of elastic materials with its upper and lower ends being firmly fixed to the inside of the discharge pipe, and an inner cylinder made of a rigid body having the shape of a Venturi tube with a narrow middle portion and having a number of holes therein inside the said cylindrical body. Water under pressure is jetted out of the jet orifice of the said jet pipe toward the discharge pipe, while air or water pressure is applied between the said discharge pipe and the cylindrical body, so that the middle part of the cylindrical body is bulged inward against said inner cylinder to form a Venturi tube, sucking out of the discharge pipe the air in the main body by Venturi efiect to produce a negative pressure in the main body and subsequently sucking out the air in a receptacle connected to the main body by the said negative pressure.

The object of the invention is to provide the suction apparatus which can suck int-o the receptacle the filth eliminated from the system during medical treatment and the moisture from such tub-es for experimentation as the pipet and the like in order to dry them and which can clean various instruments by the use of the pressure of water discharged from the exhaust pipe. Especially because of the cylindrical body made of plastic materials being bulged inward to form the Venturi tube, the inside diameter of the Venturi tube can be freely altered by controlling the air or water pressure which is applied between the cylindrical body and the discharge pipe, so that the suction pressure can be freely controlled, which is one of the advantages of the present invention.

For a more detailed description of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is the vertically sectional front view of the essential part of one of the apparatuses embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is the enlarged section of the essential part of the above-mentioned apparatus.

In FIGURE 1, 1 denotes the frame fit in the apparatus of the present invention, within which is firmly fixed the funnel-shaped main body 2, to the lower end of which is arranged the discharge pipe 3 facing downward and projecting out of the lower part of the frame 1, while in the center of the upper plate 4 of the main body 2 is firmly fixed the base of the jet pipe 5 of the pressure water facing downward. The said jet pipe 5 has the shape tapering downward and the jet orifice 6 at the lower end of the jet pipe 5 projectsinto the upper end of the said discharge pipe 3 and between the inner circumference of the upper end of the said discharge pipe 3 and the outer circumference of the jet orifice 6 is formed the suitable circular gap 7. The cylindrical body 8 made of such elastic as well as airand water-tight materials as the rubber is inserted inside the upper part of the discharge pipe 3 and the upper brim of the said cylindrical body 8 is closely fixed to the inside of the upper end of the discharge pipe 3, while the lower brim of the cylindrical body 8 is also closely fixed to the inside of the middle part of the discharge pipe 3.

To the upper end of the jet pipe 5 is connected the penstock 9, in the middle of which is arranged the valve 10, while to the upper part of the discharge pipe 3 is also connected the penstock 11 or the compressed air pipe, so that the pressure of the air or water can be applied between the discharge pipe 3 and the cylindrical body 8. It is preferable that the penstock 11 is branched out in plurality from the pressure water tank 23 and the like found in the middle of the said penstock so as to evenly apply the pressure upon the whole circumference of the cylindrical body 8, connecting the branch pipes to the circumference of the discharge pipe 3 at stated intervals. On the surface of the frame 1 are provided the pressure gauge 12 to measure the water pressure applied from the penstock 9 to the jet pipe 5 and the vacuum gauge 13 to check up the vacuum in the main body.

Inside the frame 1 are arranged 2 receptacles 14, 15, which are communicated with each other by the connecting pipe 16, while to the receptacle 14 is connected the suction pipe 17 and both the receptacle 15 and the upper plate 4 of the said main body 2 are connected by the connecting pipe 18. In the connecting part of both the connecting pipe 18 and the said upper plate 4 is provided the communicating port 20 having the check valve 19 which checks the reverse flow from within the main body 2 to the connecting pipe 18.

The rigid inner cylinder 21 having the shape of the Venturi tube with its middle portion being narrowed is inserted inside the cylindrical body 8 in the extension pipe 24 at the lower end of the main body 1 and a number of holes 22 are made in the said inner cylinder 21. The inner flange of the upper part of the cylindrical body 8 is put between the upper brim of the inner cylinder 21 and the inner flange 25 of the upper end of the extension pipe 24, while the inner flange of the lower brim of the cylindrical body 8 is put between the lower brim of the inner cylinder 21 and the upper end of the discharge pipe 3 which is screwed to the lower end of the extension pipe 24 through the packing 26.

In the apparatus illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, if the air or water pressure from the penstock 11 is applied between the discharge pipe 3 and the cylindrical body 8, the said cylindrical body 8 bulges inward on account of the pressure. Namely, since the upper and lower ends of the cylindrical body 8 are firmly fixed to the inner surface of the discharge pipe 3, the upper and lower parts of the cylindrical body 8 are not bulged, and the middle portion is bulged considerably, so that the inside of the cylindrical body is formed into the shape of a Venturi tube. Moreover, by allowing the cylindrical body to bulge inwardly, since the bulged cylindrical body 8 is pressed against the circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 21, the holes therein are closed up tightly, and the inner cylinder 21 behaves as a Venturi tube under such conditions.

The cylindrical body 8 can be taken out along with the packing 26 and the inner cylinder 21 by loosening the threaded part of the discharge pipe 3 and a new cylindrical body 8 can be put on the inner cylinder 21 and inserted into the extension pipe 24. Both the packing and discharge pipe 3 are then returned to their original positions.

Consequently when the suction pipe 17 is connected to the filth sucking pipe and the valve 10 is opened to send the pressure water to jet pipe 5, so that, as the pressure water is jet out of the jet orifice 6 at the lower end of the jet pipe 5, the jet water passes through inside the inner cylinder 21 against the circumferential surface of which is pressed the cylindrical body 8 at a high speed and is discharged from the discharge pipe 3, the air in the main body 2 is discharged from the lower end of the discharge pipe 3 through the gap 7, in case of which, the pressure inside the cylindrical body 8 will be greatly reduced on account of the Venturi effect in the cylindrical body 8 and for that account the air in the main body 2 will be rapidly sucked out to produce the negative pressure in the said main body 2.

When the main body 2 has the negative pressure in it, the check valve 19 opens to suck into the main body 2 the air in the receptacle by way of the communicating hole and the connecting pipe 18 and, when the pressure in the receptacle 15 is lowered, the air in the receptacle 14 will be sucked into the receptacle 15 by way of the connecting pipe 16. As a result, the pressure in the main body 2 and the receptacles 15, 14 will be rapidly lowered, so that vacuum in both main body and the receptacles will be raised and the filth brought about by the medical treatment will be sucked into the receptacle 14.

In the above-mentioned apparatus, the Venturi effect can be altered by changing the inside diameter of the cylindrical body 8 which will take the shape of the Venturi tube as the air or water pressure applied to the outside of the cylindrical body 8 is so controlled by operating the valve in the penstock 11 that the cylindrical body 8 may be bulged as required. Therefore, if the pressure applied to the outside of the cylindrical body 8 is controlled while checking up the vacuum gauge 13 for the main body 2, the vacuum in the main body 2 can be easily controlled. Since the check valve 19 is provided for the communicating hole 20, the said valve 19' closes to prevent the air in the main body 2 from flowing reversely into the receptacle 15, when the valve 10 is closed to check the water to jet out of the jet orifice 6 and the main body 2 has the atmospheric pressure within it.

In the present invention, the cylindrical body 8 of the elastic material is used as mentioned above, and since the inner cylinder 21 which is formed into the shape of a Venturi tube by narrowing the middle portion and is a rigid body having a number of holes therein and is firmly fixed inside the said cylindrical body 8, the inner cylinder 21 acts to give the shape of a Venturi tube to the cylindrical body 8 and the holes 22 in the inner cylinder 21 are closed tightly by said cylindrical body 8 pressing against the circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 21 under the efiect of air or hydraulic pressure. Since the cylindrical body 8 is protected by the inner cylinder 21, the cylindrical body he not deformed and the Venturi effect is not decreased by the water jetting at a high speed from the jet orifice.

Also, in the present invention, the cylindrical body made from the elastic material and positioned outside the inner cylinder 21 is bulged inward by the air or water pressure to take the shape of the Venturi tube as abovementioned, the inside diameter of the cylindrical body which takes the shape of the Venturi tube can be altered freely by changing the air or water pressure. consequent-- ly the Venturi effect can also be changed, so that thevacuum in the receptacles can be freely controlled. Be-- sides, since the Venturi effect is produced by the suction caused by the water passing through the cylindrical body at a high speed, the pressure water led into the jet pipe from the penstock may be sufficient to have the pressure similar to that of the water pipe generally used by the public. There is no need of arranging a motor like the vacuum pump. Therefore, the structure of the abovementioned apparatus is simple and there is no trouble resulting from the power source. The cost of its installation and operation is considerably economical.

While the preferred embodiments have been described above in detail, it will be understood that numerous modifications might be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A suction apparatus for medical and other uses, comprising the hollow main body, a discharge pipe connected to the lower end of said main body, a jet pipe for jetting water under pressure projecting into the upper part of said main body and having the end thereof directed toward the said discharge pipe, a cylindrical body of elastic material in said discharge pipe and having the upper and lower edges fixed to the inner surface of the discharge pipe, a penstock connected to said discharge pipe between the ends of said cylindrical body for supplying fluid pressure to the space between the discharge pipe and the cylindrical body, an inner Venturi shaped rigid body having a plurality of holes therein and positioned inside the said cylindrical body and having the ends thereof attached to the inside of said discharge pipe, and a connecting pipe adapted to communicate with a material to be sucked extending into the upper part of the main body.

2. A suction apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said connecting pipe includes a check valve which prevents the air in the main body from flowing back through the connecting pipe.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,671,564 5/ 1928 Andrews 103-271 2,324,422 7/ 1943 Patterson 230 2,479,783 8/ 1949 Sawyer 103262 2,665,646 1/ 1954 Garnett et a1. 103262 2,937,802 5/1960 Fisher 230-95 2,998,198 8/1961 Young 239455 FOREIGN PATENTS 932,572 8/1955 Germany.

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner.

MARK NEWMAN, Examiner.

W. L. FR EEH, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SUCTION APPARATUS FOR MEDICAL AND OTHER USES, COMPRISING THE HOLLOW MAIN BODY, A DISCHARGE PIPE CONNECTED TO THE LOWER END OF SAID MAIN BODY, A JET PIPE FOR JETTING WATER UNDER PRESSURE PROJECTING INTO THE UPPER PART OF SAID MAIN BODY AND HAVING THE END THREOF DIRECTED TOWARD THE SAID DISCHARGE PIPE, A CYLINDRICAL BODY OF ELASTIC MATERIAL IN SAID DISCHARGE PIPE AND HAVING THE UPPER AND LOWER EDGES FIXED TO THE INNER SURFACE OF THE DISCHARGE PIPE, A PENSTOCK CONNECTED TO SAID DISCHARGE PIPE BETWEEN THE ENDS OF SAID CYLINDRICAL BODY FOR SUPPLYING FLUID PRESSURE TO THE SPACE BETWEEN THE DISCHARGE PIPE AND THE CYLINDRICAL BODY, AN INNER VENTURI SHAPED RIGID BODY HAVING A PLYRALITY OF HOLES THEREIN AND POSITIONED INSIDE THE SAID CYLINDRICAL BODY AND HAVING THE ENDS THEREOF ATTACHED TO THE INSIDE OF SAID DISCHARGE PIPE, AND A CONNECTING PIPE ADAPTED TO COMMUNICATE WITH A MATERIAL TO BE SUCKED EXTENDING INTO THE UPPER PART OF THE MAIN BODY. 